Crow
Crow (real name Maxwell "Max" McBane, born December 21st, 2004) is a member of The Team. Formerly the anti-hero Karma, Crow is currently a young hero under the tutelage of Batgirl. Personality In his earlier years, Max was very aloof and reserved. He acted cold to most everyone and treated others with irevverence. This took a dramatic turn after his incarceration, and he began to mellow-out considerably. He was still a very quiet and angry induvidual when he met Batgirl. After training under her wing, he adopted a much different persona. Whereas Batgirl is often very serious, Crow tends to act very goofy around others. He is a lighthearted person who treats others with warmth. When he isn't making sarcastic comments or attempting to be snarky, he can be funny and tends to be a very likeable guy. His sincerity and compassion makes him a trustworthy induvidual who acts cooperatively. Max retains some of his old self, shown in small incriments like his adamancy to place civilain saftey as the highest priority or his tendency to bluntly rubuke those who abuse a position of power. He's never had problems speaking his mind, though he knows when to keep his mouth shut. Unfortuneately, he tends to be unable to help himself from making snarky remarks when opprotunities present themselves. His sense of right and wrong is strong, though he has a certain disregard for the rules when he feels it is justified. In this way, he can be called self-righteous. Another way he shows his old self is through his fighting style, as he has no problem playing dirty when it comes to fighting a criminal, which has been labled as "not very heroic". He also has no problem lying if he is going undercover, capable of manipulaiting others if it means getting information he desires. Because of his desire to change, Max has become a very calm and collected induvidual. Though he tyically walks with confidence, he often harbors many doubts about himself concerning his place and his abilities. He is not very judgemental, and has even shown to be very forgiving to even his enemies. Even so, there are lines Max will draw, such as with his father's killer. He maintains a level head even in tense situations, which makes him very effective in a crisis. He is generally very optomistic and seeks to encourage others when they feel down. He can not turn a blind eye to someone in need, which tends to land him in trouble. Max is actually quite guarded. He hates to relinquish control, fearing he'll crash, and has problems letting others into his more personal life. He tends to withhold information about himself to avoid being a burden to others, even if it is detremintal to himself. He is plagued by guilt for being unable to save his father and for being such a troublesome kid in his younger years. Thus, he sees his current work as repentence. Due to his scientific background, Max has innate curisoity. He has shown many detective-like traits, such as a keen eye for obervation. He is perceptive and very inutitive, allowing him to make quick deductions and forumalate strategies during missions. However, he is also very obessive. Max is so driven he will relentlessly seek answers until he is completely satisfied that he has the whole truth. When he angered, Max reverts back to a darker side of himself that he claims to make a great deal of effort to keep down. This side of him is jaded, the part of him that harbors hate for the current world that is filled with metahumans and powerful aliens. He claims that it is because of these things that superheroes exist to battle supervillains, which cause average civilains to die or get hurt in the process. When he gets into intense fights, he becomes driven to win even at the cost of his own life. Thus, he is driven in a "victory or death" way. Physical Appearance Max is an atractive young man with dishevled, jet-black hair swept to one side and bright blue eyes. He has a Caucasian skin tone and a sarcastic, toroublemaker smile. Others have remarked his handsome features can quickly shift from humor to anger. From his training with Batgirl, he is very fit, muscular, and lean. He stands at a slightly above-average height, but is noted to be shorter than Nightwing. He typically wears sunglasses around The Team when not in costume to conceal his eyes. As a civilian, Max prefers to wear basics like jeans and shirts with neutral colors. This is much different than his style he wore back when he was a street punk. Though he claims he is not the "sweater-vest" type, the brown leather jacket Max always wears tends to suggest he's been in a fight or two. As Crow, his costume comprises of a solid black leotard, black shoulder pads, boots, and gloves. He has a light gray utlity belt. The chest area of his costume is emblazoned with a red bat with its wings expanded and his abdomen is a lighter gray. The suit has "wings" that cean be released under the arms that allow for gliding through the air. His costume is made of kevlar. Like Nightwing and the past Robins, Max wears a simple eye mask. Biography Early Life Maxwell "Max" McBane is the son of a Wayne Enterprises scientific researcher and a nurse. Initially, his mother decided to stay at home to raise Max, which wound up being a nececity as Max's father became married to his work and typically fathered his research. He was fairly young when his parents became seperated. His mother filed for a divorce when Max was in his preteen years. January 2016 Max runs away from home and winds up abduted by The Reach. He was sedated and taken to a Reach mobile base in the western Pacific. The Reach begins to preform human experimentation on him. Due to the odd results, the aliens keep him alive to further study his metagene. March 2016 After months of facing experiments, Max becomes aware that more abudctees are coming in and others are leaving (and never returning). The Reach concludes their experiments on Max, labeling him as a failure. The decide to exterminate him, but The Team liberates the abductees before The Reach can followthrough with their plan. April 2016 Following the events in March, Max and other abductees are taken to STAR labs for debriefing. Black Canary welcomes him to her makeshift consultation room, where she records her conversation with him and the other runaways. Before Black Canary can interrogate him, Max tells her he wants to go back home. He relunctanly recounts the experiments done on him, explaining what happened when she pushes him. After growing impatient with the questioning, he places blame on the Justice League for the experiments done on him. He is readily dismissed when asked if he can leave. May 2016 Max and other abuctees are sequestered at STAR labs for testing. Max observes that the scientists have split the kids into two groups: those who have unlocked their metagene and those who have not. Max is placed in the latter group, despite showing no signs of a metagene. Eventually, his mother is able to free him from the labs by stating they can not hold her son without valid reason. July 2018 Max is caught in a heist and arrested. He is given a three month sentence to serve in juvenile hall. December 2018 Max's father dies around Christmas time. Max adopts the ego "Karma" soon after. May 2019 Max breaks into Wayne Tech. After narrowly escaping capture, he infiltrates Wayne Manor to inform billionare Bruce Wayne of the corruption in his company. Batman uses his detective skills to discover Karma's true identity. Max meets Batgirl, who decides to take him on as an apprentice. October 2021 ''' Max agrees to join a mission with The Team and later joins. Powers and Abilities '''Powers * Negation: After being experimented on by The Reach, Crow's metagene was unlocked. However, due to the nature of his ability, The Reach determined that he lacked the metagene and was, therefore, a failure. This power allows Crow to negate others' powers. Though natural abilities such as Martian shapeshifting, Lantern power rings, or natural physiology such as pointy ears can not be negated, Crow can negate magical spells and other metagene powers that come in direct contact with him. Crow shows no aptitude for magical arts, so great, in fact, that he can not even use magically endowed artifacts. His power affects both metagene witches as well as demigods and even the magic of Klarion the Witch Boy. Magic is not the only thing affected, as Crow is capable of severing the tie between a speedster and the speedforce. Despite this, he is still affected by attacks like super punches. This is because the punch has already activated that power, and by the time it comes into contact with Crow the force still applies (as it is power negation and not vector negation) resulting in Crow feeling the full affect. Technically, the super punch would be negated after contact, but the opponent would not even notice as they have already followed-through with their attack. Abilities *'Conditioning': For the past several years, Crow has trained with Batgirl to reach an above-average human condition. * Movement ** Master Stealth: To survive as a street punk, Crow picked up on the art of stealth. After becoming Batgirl's apprentice, he has honed this skill. Crow can appear and disappear without anyone noticing. This skill is something he has had to further sharpen to avoid his family, namely his mother, discovering his secret identity. He has practiced this skill so often that he can often spook others when he suddenly pops up without meaning to. ** Complex Hand-to-Hand Combat: Due to two different backgrounds in combat, Crow is a well-rounded fighter. As a kid, he picked up on street fighting. He's been known to take down opponents larger than himself, as he was used to fighting bigger kids at a young age. After being under Batgirl's wing for a few years, his discipline in the martial arts has grown, making him a stronger fighter. ** Amateur Escape Artistry: Crow is capable of getting out of tight spots due to several skills like his ability to remain calm in tense situations, his agility, and his flexibility. He has shown to be able to get out of handcuffs with ease. ** Marksmanship: Crow has been using his own batarangs for awhile now, and has fairly high accuracy. It doesn't stop Batgirl from nagging on him to improve, though. ** Lock Picking: Picked up from his rougher days, Crow shows great proficiency in breaking into buildings, cars, and basic safes. ** Amateur Melee Weaponry: Recently picked up, Crow has just picked up using a bo staff in the current year. He is no where near Robin's (Tim Drake) level, though he does show diligence in the practice. * Mental ** Detective Skills: Since he was young, Crow has been able to pick up on overlooked details and make quick deductions based off observation. He is very intuitive and has been working on his forensic investigation skills for the past few years. He has astute deductive reasoning. ** High Intellect: Crow is a science protege who aspires to be a researcher like his father. He was able to steal one of Batman's batarangs and reverse engineer it to recreate one for himself. * Vehicular ** Motorcycle: Though he possess a driver's license, Crow does not have a car. He fixed up an old motorcycle, which he can drive, but his mother often prefers he take the bus or walk instead. Equipment * Batarangs: Sometimes been called "Crow"arangs by Crow himself or birdarangs by Nightwing (to which Crow quickly corrects, to much of his distaste to the "delicate" name), these shuriken-like objects, acting like boomerangs, are used as long-distance attack weapons. Crow has used several variants, such as those that explode, emit electric shocks, and release a variety of different gases. * Batarope: A rope with a grapple used by members of the Bat-family. It stretches to approximately 28 stories (303 feet). It can carry a fair amount of weight, shown when Crow has used it to get himself and others out of danger. * Handcuffs: Crow carries a pair of handcuffs around to restrain criminals once they are captured. * Collapsable Bo: Recently given to him by Batgirl, Crow has started training with using this weapon. Unlike Robin's (Tim Drake), it is not electrified as Batgirl was concerned Crow's amateur skills would wind up getting himself shocked instead of his opponent. * Holographic Computer: Used by everyone under Batman's tutelage, Crow has a built-in computer system with holographic interface. Whereas Batgirl's is a hand-held devise, Crow's is attached to his costume on his right forearm, but he can use it in civilian mode as well. * Rebreather: A small devise used to breathe underwater. * Periscope: '''A small devise used to peak around corners. * '''Utility Belt: As one would expect from a Bat, Crow has a utility belt that stores a variety of weapons and tools. ** Forensic Kit: Crow is capable of taking samples and doing minor lab work in the field. ** Lock-Picking Kit: Something he has recently started carrying around. Crow is actually capable of using his surroundings to break into things, but admits that the kit makes it easier (and is more reliable). ** Pocket Explosives: Crow carries flash grenades and a thrown explosive that creates a lasting, sizable fire. ** Various Pellets: Crow carries various pellets that can be thrown to emit foam, gas, and different albeit harmless smokes. ** Chalk: '''Crow carries chalk to mark the floors to asist during battle plans. Relationships '''Batgirl (Barbra Gordon) Crow has a deeply immense sense of respect and adoration for his mentor. He openly admits that Batgirl has saved his life in many ways. Not only has she taken him under her wing, but she gave him hope that heroes are not all bad. He greatly idolizes her, though he does not show this in a "fanboy" manner. Her acceptance of him made him feel validated, to which he returns with unwavering loyalty. Crow rarely questions her orders, only speaking up under circumstances where an outcome appears grim. He shows great respect for her skills and abilities. Despite his admiration for her, Crow is not above being playful. They mutually tease each other, though Crow is most often the first to relent to her wit. He shows a great deal of faith in her, and highly respects her opinion. Through the years, Batgirl has tempered his spirit. Though she is outwardly serious when around the team, Batgirl shows a certain playfulness around Nightwing. Crow has adopted a rater flipped version of this, acting more goofy around teammates and rarely appearing serious. It's this darker more serious side of him that Batgirl responds best to, as she says it is the side of him she is used to seeing from when they first met. As such, Crow is actually a much more mild mannered and serious when they are fulfilling their duties as heroes together. Batgirl has remarked that Crow would be a better leader if he would take it more seriously. Despite this, she does admit Crow shows legitimate concern when it comes to bettering himself, and believes the joking side of him is a front to hide his anger. Due to their closeness, Crow views Batgirl as more than a mentor or friend, but an older sister. He openly will refer to her as family, showing a deep, platonic love for her. This feelings have prompted a desire to gain Batman's (Bruce Wayne) acceptance, feeling like an "infiltrator" to the family rather than a valid Bat-family protege. Though he will say Batgirl is like a sister to him, he does not refer to himself as a member of the family. Batman (Bruce Wayne) Crow's relationship with the big Bat is rocky at best. After picking up street orphan Jason Todd (who died by the Joker's hands), Batman outright refused to do the same to yet another "street kid". Batman had even insisted that Crow (at the time Karma) stop searching for what happened to George McBane and leave it to the professionals. Since becoming Batgirl's student, Batman has offered his own protege guidance and assistance. However, Crow remarks that the Batman remains distant. Though Crow harbors anger toward Batman, pinning partial blame on the hero for the death of his father, he has shown a deep desire to be accepted by him as well. Because of his profound respect for Batgirl, Crow does show admiration for her teacher. The relationship between them is very strained on both parts. During an argument, Batman has called Crow "Jason", to much of the dismay of everyone in the family. Despite the awkwardness between them, Crow is especially self-conscious of how he behaves around Batman, acting much more serious around him. Crow uses Bruce Wayne's gym regularly. Nightwing (Dick Grayson) Crow seems to have a fairly good relationship with Nightwing. He's been known to not only take the experienced hero's teasing, but also attempt to dish it back out at him. He highly respects Nightwing's skills as a leader and a hero. Though they have a friendly relationship, Crow does not push his buttons nearly as much as Batgirl will, and often will act sympathetic toward Nightwing when Batgirl plays around with her old friend at Nightwing's own expense. Red Hood (Jason Todd) Formerly the second incarnation of Robin, Crow never met Jason. However, Bruce seems to hold the two in some form of comparison due to their criminal pasts. Bruce didn't want to repeat the mistake he made with Jason, which is why he initially chose not to take on Crow as an apprentice. However, Batgirl decided to take him on for that very reason, to steer him on the right path. Because of this, Crow has found tension between himself and Batman rooted in the late Robin's gruesome demise. Red Robin (Tim Drake) Though they are not especially close, Crow respects Robin as an experienced member of the bat-family and the team. However, he is also fairly playful with him as well. He and Robin have a decent relationship, though Robin calls Crow's jokes tiresome. Even so, he recognizes Crow can get serious, as shown when Crow spars with Robin to practice using his staff. Despite being a joker, Robin appreciates Crow does not show arrogance when fighting, and is very receptive to criticism for improvement. George McBane Max loved his father, but they had a rocky relationship. Max wound up rebellious as a child to seek attention from his father. Once George started spending quality time with his son, Max considerably mellowed-out. His father's death took a huge toll on him, and is still something that haunts Max today. He has stated the last words to his father were shouted in anger, something he deeply regrets. It's because of George's death that Max decided to become a hero. Melissa Blake Once Melissa McBane, Melissa is the other of Max and ex-wife of the late George McBane. She remarried Evander Blake, and had a child with him. Max and his mother have a standard relationship. She deeply loves and cares for him despite Max's mistakes and the fact he took his father's side during the divorce. They often fight, though it is often misunderstandings having to do with Max's late night activities as Crow. Even so, when he was being held by STAR labs, she foght tirelessly to get him freed. She greatly worries about his saftey, as she hates him riding on his motorcycle. She often remarks how similar Max is to his father. Max also is deeply concerned for her safety, and often regrets being unable to tell her about his alter ego. He desperately wants to keep her safe from harm. Their relationship was once very strained, as Max had sided with his dad on the divorce. Even now, their relationship has a lot of bumps due to Max's secretive nature and the fact Max feels outcasted since his mother remarried and had a kid with someone else. Ameilia "Amy" Blake ' Max and his younger half-sister have a fairly okay relationship. She is a stellar student with numerous natural talents and seems "effortlessly perfect" according to Max. She can also be quite nosy when it comes to Max's personal life, shown when she tries to sneak into his room. Even though she can be a typical annoying little sister at times, she and Max do have a close bond. Max takes Amy to the fair each year and usually doesn't have much of a problem watching his sister when his parents ask him too, though his hero duties can get in the way. Because Amy is "a child genius", she is often very suspicous of Max's behavior. Thus, he can get annoyed when she pries into his privacy. Unlike Max who insisted on staying at Gotham North, Amy attends the more prestigious Gotham Academy. '''Evander Blake ' Though Max has a decent relationship with Evander, he refers to him as "Mr. Blake" or "sir" despite Evander's request for Max to call him "dad". He's also been willing to pay for Max to attend Gotham Academy, but he refused on the account "all my friends are at Gotham North" and the fact his favorite teacher is there as well. Max says Evander is "a good guy" and has admitted he deserves his mom. He remains skeptical of Evander, but feels it is out of bias. '''Shadow (Alexandra Ricardo) Nightwing's protege, Crow shows a great deal of familiarity with Shadow, even calling her "Shad" when he first met The Team. They train together, though less frequent when Shadow joined The Team first. Crow shows a great deal of trust in her, respecting both her abilities as a fighter and her strong personality. His teasing is borderline flirtatious, though he calls her a "good friend", so it's unknown if he just enjoys pushing her buttons or has other feelings for her. Crow shows respect for Shadow's opinions and took her advise when she asked him to give The Team a chance, which is what lead him to joining in the first place. Shrike (Nathaniel Slate) Before Max becomes aware of Shrike's idenity as both his teacher and George's killer, Max has a great relationship with Nathaniel. He views his teacher as a surrogate father and has a great deal of respect for him. He will even go to Nathaniel for advise concerning his other life, though he goes about it in roundabout ways to prevent Nathaniel from discovering his alter ego. He claims he trusts Nathaniel with his secret as Crow, but does not want to endanger him with that knowledge. Nathaniel catches on to Max's secret quickly, though he goes about it in clever ways, such as covering for Max when the school asks about his tardies and absences resulting from his hero duties. Appearances (don't do this yet) Category:Characters Category:The Team